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Boxing’s pound-for-pound king and an immeasurably talented prospect will duke it out for undisputed Lightweight supremacy on ESPN+ this evening (Sat., Oct. 17, 2020) as two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasiliy Lomachenko takes on 23-year-old dynamo Teofimo Lopez at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the Lomachenko vs. Lopez main card, which begins at 10 p.m. ET. on ESPN. The “Prelims” undercard bouts, which formerly featured Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Clay Collard, begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Lomachenko claimed titles at 126 and 130 pounds before embarking on a quest for total 135-pound unification, starting with a decision over Jorge Linares for the WBA “super” title. He went on to out-class Jose Pedraza for the WBO belt, knockout Anthony Crolla in a mandatory defense, and defeat fellow gold medalist Luke Campbell for the WBC belt.
That just leaves the IBF title, which Lopez claimed by brutally knocking out the historically durable Richard Commey in Nov. 2019. He’s stopped six of his last seven opponents, including former title challenger Diego Magdaleno.
The ESPN+-streamed main card will also see unbeaten Super Lightweight prospect Arnold Barboza Jr. face the always-dangerous Alex Saucedo and Super Middleweight wunderkind Edgar Berlanga look for his fifteenth consecutive first-round knockout against veteran Lanell Bellows.
And yes, before you ask, the show shouldn’t begin until after UFC Fight Island 6 (full results here) has concluded.
Lomachenko Vs. Lopez Quick Results:
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez — Lopez def. Lomachenko by unanimous decision (116-112, 119-109, 117-111)
Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Alex Saucedo — Barboza def. Saucedo by unanimous decision (96-93, 97-92 x2)
Edgar Berlanga vs. Lanell Bellows — Berlanga def. Bellows by TKO at 1:19 of Round One
Lomachenko Vs. Lopez Round-By-Round Updates:
Undisputed Lightweight Championship: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez
Watch Full Fight Highlights Right Here!
Round one: Lopez on the front foot early. Sending out jabs. 1-1-1-2 attempt. Lomachenko yet to throw. Halfway through. Lopez fairly tentative as well, tries a right to the body. Again, that one lands. One more. 10-9 Lopez.
Round two: Lopez continuing to flick out the jab. Right hand downstairs. Left hook lands to the body, good right cross. Lead left from Lomachenko. Halfway through. Lopez with a right downstairs, takes a double left upstairs. Jab lands for Lomachenko. Three-piece from the Ukrainian. 10-9 Lomachenko, 19-19.
Round three: Lopez still sending out noncommittal jabs. Left hand seems to land on the ropes. Body shots. Halfway through. Jab from Lomachenko. Lopez tries an uppercut to left hook. Jab by Lomachenko. Counter left by Lopez lands to the body. Brief combo on the ropes, cracked with a right hook in combination. 10-9, 29-28 Lopez.
Round four: Lopez falls short with a combo. Lomachenko just not throwing. There’s a jab from him. Lopez fires a 1-2. Left hooks blocked. Halfway through. Counter left, jab from Lomachenko. Lopez lands a body shot in the corner. 1-2 downstairs falls short. Jabs upstairs, right cross. 10-9, 39-37 Lopez.
Round five: Lopez sending out jabs. Lomachenko circling. Lopez body shot. 1-2 from Lomachenko. Halfway through. Lomachenko jab. Lomachenko just isn’t throwing anything. Lopez to the body. 10-9, 49-46 Lopez.
Round six: Lopez firing combinations. Counte right by Lomachenko. He is not throwing punches and it doesn’t make sense. Double jabs from Lomachenko. Lopez jab, takes a combination. Halfway through. Lopez falls short with a combo. Lomachenko tries to triple up the jab. They trade inside. Lopez with a right hand to the body, eats a jab, clinch. Lopez double jab to the body. Counter right and then another cross by Lopez. 10-9, 59-55 Lopez.
Round seven: Lopez comes on hard in the corner. Short lefts from Lomachenko in the clinch. Lomachenko is fighting like garbage right now, moving well but throwing nothing. Lopez with a right to the body. Halfway through. 1-2 form Lopez. Now a combo from Lomachenko, eats a right hand to the body. Clinch. 10-9, 69-64 Lopez.
Round eight: Lomachenko now coming on, throws a combo, clash of heads. Lomachenko landing jabs. Right hand by Lopez, 1-2 from Lomachenko in return. 1-1-2 from Lopaz, eats a three-piece by Lomachenko. Heavy shots from Lomachenko at point blank. Halfway through. Lopez throwing with him. Good left from Lomachenko inside. 1-2. Lopez jabs the body, takes one upstairs. Long right lands for him. Another cross. Lomachenko lands a jab. 10-9 Lomachenko, 78-74 Lopez.
Round nine: Lopez fires a left hook on the ropes. Jab to the body. Good lefts by Lomachenko inside. Jab upstairs. Lopez tries a 1-1-2, takes left hands. Combinations by Lomachenko. Lopez fires back. Halfway through. Three-piece by Lomachenko, eats a 1-2. Lopez tries an uppercut. 1-2-3 from Lomachenko. Counter right by Lopez, eats jabs. Lomachenko to the body. 10-9 Lomachenko, 87-84 Lopez.
Round ten: Lomachenko on the advance. Clinch. Jab lands for him. Left hand connects. Good combiantions from Lomachenko, clinch. Double jab. Jab-left by Lomachenko, starting to pour it on. Lopez sends out a lengthy combo. Body shots. Halfway through. Lomachenko answers a jab with a combination. Stiff jab. 1-2 lands clean. Jab upstairs. Lomachenko digs a left downstairs, they trade in the center. Combo by the Ukrainian. Lopez fires a right to the body that referee Russell Mora calls a low blow. 10-9 Lomachenko, 96-94 Lopez.
Round eleven: Heavy combos by Lomachenko, forcing Lopez to the ropes. Lopez throwing with him but Lomachenko’s combinations are landing clean. Good shots on the ropes. Stiff jab upstairs, 1-2 on the ropes. Trading at close range. Lomachenko digs a hard left to the body. Five-piece, left hand, body shot. Lopez letting himself get backed to the ropes halfway through. Lopez digs a right to the body. Hard lefts by Lomachenko. Good body shot. More straight lefts upstairs. Good body shots by Lopez met by a left upstairs. Lopez again lands a right to the body, takes a straight left. Good right to the body by Lopez. 10-9 Lomachenko, 105-104 Lopez.
Round twelve: Good rights from Lopez in the early going. Lomachenko straight left met by a right hand. Clinch. Lomachenko lands a combo on the ropes, eats body shots. Good uppercut by Lopez. Lomachenko left hand, good rights from Lopez. Clean 1-2 by Lomachenko. Three-piece upstairs. Lopez digs a right to the body. Big shots from both men. Lomachenko with a left as they separate. Good 1-2. Right hook upstairs. 1-2. Clinch. He’s backing Lopez up. Clinch. Hard left hook by Lopez. Good left by Lomachenko and they’re slugging it out. Clinch. Body shot by Lomachenko. Lopez sporting a nasty cut above his right eye from a clash of heads. Both men throw everything. 10-9, 115-113 Lopez.
Final result: Lopez def. Lomachenko by unanimous decision
Super Lightweight: Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Alex Saucedo
Round one: Saucedo coming out aggressive, as always. Barboza fighting southpaw. Body shot from Barboza. Saucedo combo met by a left hook. Barboza switches to orthodox, good combo. Right hand by Saucedo. Short uppercut by Saucedo, eats a body shot and some left hooks upstairs. Right uppercut from Barboza halfway through. Barboza meeting him in the pocket and doing well for himself. They trade to the body. Saucedo with a jab and right hand. Hard left by Barboza. Saucedo 1-2, series of short lefts. Barboza double left, another looping left upstairs, combination. Good trade in the center favors Barboza. 10-9 Barboza.
Round two: Overhand left from Barboza. Straight left met by a Saucedo straight right. Left hook appears to buzz Barboza. Good exchanges inside, these ones favor Saucedo. Both fire combinations. Nice exchanges in the center. Halfway through. Saucedo double jab answers an uppercut. Hard 1-2 by Barboza. 1-2-1. Barboza staying a little farther out now, working behind the jab. 1-2 from Saucedo, good 3-2. Nice exchange in the center. More phone booth exchanges. 10-9 Saucedo, 19-19.
Round three: Stiff jab from Saucedo. Barboza counter left. More jabs from Barboza, moving more. They trade at close range. Saucedo combo answered in kind. Body shot from Barboza strays low. Both land hard in the center. Good left hook by Barboza. Saucedo to the body, Barboza meets him inside. Great exchanges halfway through the round. Right hands to the body by Barboza, who eats a shovel hook. Barboza 1-2. Trading forehaed to forehead. Hard body shot and right cross from Barboza. 10-9, 29-28 Barboza.
Round four: Saucedo advancing, Barboza circling. Brief clinch, more Barboza jabs. Saucedo jab, Barboza right cross. Both double up their left hooks. Halfway through. Saucedo digs inside, eats a body shot. Hard southpaw lefts by Barboza, they trade in the center. Both rip the body. They trade right hands. Barboza landing the cleaner shots so far. Heavy 1-2 knocks Saucedo back. Barboza follows up with a body shot, then another 1-2. Both rip the body. Combinations from Barboza. 10-9, 39-27 Barboza.
Round five: Saucedo continuing to advance. Jab exchanges. Saucedo tries combinations, takes one from Barboza. Less intense action this round, favoring Barboza’s jab. Halfway through. Barboza check hook. Saucedo to the body, avoids the return fire. 1-1-2-3. Hard flurry by Barboza in return. 2-3. Saucedo with a nice right hand, then another, tries to open up in the corner. They slug in the center. Clinch. 10-9, 49-46 Barboza.
Round six: Trading jabs to start, good right from Saucedo. Barboza takes a bad low blow, but declines to take time. Trading at point-blank range. Both landing well. Hard right hands. Saucedo doing well this round in the firefights. Barboza left hook. Halfway through. 1-1-2 by Saucedo and he’s getting momentum. Hard left hands by Barboza knock him back. Hard body shots by Saucedo. Right hand upstairs. Barboza looks for the body. 10-9 Saucedo, 58-56 Barboza.
Round seven: Sharp jabs from Barboza. 1-2 from Saucedo. 1-2-1 by Barboza, staying mobile this round. Saucedo doubles up the left hook and Barboza slips. Clinch. More clinching. 1-2 from Barboza. Saucedo 1-3. Halfway through. Trading jabs. Saucedo tries a combo. Barboza as well. Clinch. Saucedo right hand, Barboza left hook. 1-2-1. More Barboza jabs. Saucedo tries a flurry, eats a left hook. Sneaky left hook on the pivot. 10-9, 68-65 Barboza. Hang on, they’re reviewing the slip and it’s now a knockdown. 10-8 Saucedo, 66-66.
Round eight: Barboza working behind his jab, lands a lengthy combination. 1-2-1 met by a Saucedo 1-1-2. Hard right hand by Barboza in combination. Saucedo with a lengthy combo inside, denies an attempt to clinch. Barboza answers in kind halfway through the round. Barboza 1-2, then on the counter. Barboza uppercut met by a counter right. Lead cross by Saucedo, both land left hooks. Barboza tries a combo. 10-9, 76-75 Barboza.
Round nine: Barboza keeping it a boxing match at this point, which is working out well for him. Jabs, combinations. Saucedo not getting much done this round. Halfway through. 1-2-3 from Barboza. 1-2 connects. Another 1-2, avoids a flurry from Saucedo. Clinch. Clinch. 1-2-1 by Barboza. 10-9, 86-84 Barboza.
Round ten: Saucedo pressing forward, eats a pair of nasty right hands. 1-2-1 by Barboza. They trade at close range. Right hand from Saucedo against the ropes, clinch. Good 1-2, left hook in the corner. Big right by Barboza, clinch. Great exchanges and Saucedo appears to hurt him with a left hook. Good shots, Barboza answers with a heavy cross of his own. 2-3 from Barboza. Halfway through. Jabs connecting. Clinch. 1-2 by Barboza as they separate. Hard cross and left hook, uppercut. Lengthy flurry from Saucedo. Great fight. Swing round. but 10-9, 96-93 Barboza.
Final result: Barboza def. Saucedo by unanimous decision
Super Middleweight: Edgar Berlanga vs. Lanell Bellows
Round one: Trading jabs to start. Berlanga whiffs an overhand right, brief clinch. Both swing in the center, clinch. Berlanga doubles up the left hook. Nice counter right by Bellows. 2-3 from Berlanga, double left hook seems to sting Bellows. Bellows is hurt and Berlanga’s blasting him against the ropes. The ref calls it as the onslaught continues.
Final result: Berlanga def. Bellows by TKO